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(c) VENEREAL DISEASES.
The Special Clinic for the Investigation, follow-up and treatment of venereal
diseases is held at Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, under the direction of the
Consultant Venereologist, Dr.F.G.MacBonald, to whom I am indebted for the following
report. (The figures in brackets are the corresponding ones for 1954).
The total number of patients who attended was 603 (553). This includes 120
already under treatment or observation at the beginning of the year.
New Patients 483 (411)
Total attendances 3,036 (2,759)

Five cases of Syphilis came under treatment as the result of routine ante-natal
testing. Three of them were congenital in origin, one being an Italian and another a
Jamaican.
It Is satisfactory to be able to record that all those pregnant were delivered of
healthy Infants.
It will be noticed that the Gonorrhoea cases were nearly doubled. Some of these
were superinfections and were an illustration of the care-free attitude, now unfortunately
common in patients, Induced by the rapid response of the condition to penicillin.
The total has been partly swelled by natives from the West Indies. As the Infection
was invariably acquired in this country, the fact that they are attending as patients is an
unwelcome reminder of the untreated reservoirs of infection which still exist. Contact
tracing has generally been impossible where these West Indians are concerned as the infection
is nearly always acquired as the result of a casual encounter. Other conditions also show
a marked Increase. These, as usual are mostly cases of vaginitis, cervicitis and other
conditions of infective, but not necessarily venereal origin although this possibility has
always to be investigated.
New cases by Area (Excluding Return and Previously Treated eases) were:-
West Ham 220 (148)
East Ham 38 (36)
Essex 156 (149)
Other Areas 36 (42)
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